Suggestions for hairballs

OK -a couple of my boys suffer from time to time and I have varying degrees of success dosing them with Laxatone or Hartz Salmon Flavored hairball grease.

I also have varying levels of success brushing them, though I now have a couple of Zoom-Groom converts.

Unfortunately, the ones who have the most trouble with the hairballs are the ones I have to chase down or sneak up on and whammy them with the stuff.

I have had a couple of them yak up a little yellowish looking fluid or partially digested food packed with hair.

I have seen poo on occasion packed with hair, too.

With seven cats of varying temperaments... I am always looking for "passive delivery systems"....

Can anyone recommend stuff I can add to their food to help them along? I don't like mineral oil b/c I know it can affect GI absorption.

Also - given my schedule, it is impossible to give them HB treatment and wait an hour or two to feed them.

Tabitha is about 9 years old, maybe 10ish? Anyways, next best thing to feral. She quite literally lived in my closet for many months. I can touch her, on her terms. But man, I'd hate to piss her off or be holding her when she freaks out!

She has hairball problems, like 2 - 5 per day! My solution? Premium Edge Senior/Hairball Formula. It's a part of her diet, I mix in another dry food. I think you may have some food issues in your household, but I figure it's worth throwing it out there.

Butter... I use mineral oil per the vet for the stubborn ones

A fiber supplement in their wet food along with fish oil is probably your most hands off method. Other than that, keep trying to brush everyone.

I've had great luck with Professional Choice Hairball Control (dry food) Of course there are many more hairballs to clean up, but I would much rather have them on the rug then in kitties stomachs. I mix this feed with their regular kibble

Originally Posted by hissy

I've had great luck with Professional Choice Hairball Control (dry food) Of course there are many more hairballs to clean up, but I would much rather have them on the rug then in kitties stomachs. I mix this feed with their regular kibble

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Do you have a link MA... I have heard of it but it is unavail in my area

I have one puker - Tex. Vastly improved when I monitor the speed and volume of his intake.

I have one cat with irritable bowel-type symptoms - cleared up with a largely grain free diet.

I brush/comb several times a week. recently intro'd a Zoom Groom and had reluctant Jake and scaredy Ghost purring and drooling.

It seems to be much more of an issue spring and fall.

It's not as though I am tip-toeing through a minefield of hairballs. If one of the boys so much as coughs, he gets a glob o' stuff. I have had to clean up 2-3 small to med. hairballs in the last couple of weeks. And a little bit of that yellowy stuff. Remember -I have SEVEN kitties.

I feed Taste of the Wild; and each cat gets approx 2-3 ounces of slightly watered down wet every day.

They do like Temptations hairball treats. I could go back to that.

Just hesitant to put more grain back into the diet for Archie's sake- which is the case with hairball dry - right? It also ramps up the gas factor in my place with several of the guys.

It's funny - Arch is the medium coated cat... and he seems to have fewer issues than the SH'd ones. Course- he loooooooves to be brushed and combed so it is NO problem at all to groom him.

@ strange-wings - I tried fish oil... it rec'd a lukewarm response, in particular from Rex, who is one of the problems. He has a very plush, dense short coat. Would some other type of oil work, such as safflower, olive or flax seed???

Olive works ... flax would work

Hairballs are so gross. Parker used to throw up the huge ones...like almost wiener length. Yuck! He lets me brush him a bit, but usually ends up attacking the brush after a minute or two when he decides he's had enough. My vet gave me Tonic-Lax and since I've been giving it to him like she told me, I haven't seen a big hairballs like that in ages. He still coughs up the occasional tiny one...but much better than the big ones.

Thanks, everyone. I am going to try butter and/or olive oil... since I have those things handy... I cannot imagine the boys would turn down butter! LOL!

I was thinking safflower b/c it is also high in linolineic acid -good for skin and coat, yes? Their coats and skin are good - Rex's is a little bit more dry than the others. And it does get worse in winter for all of them with the furnace running.

I have noticed that the Z-G gets up dander.. I am hoping, too, that the ZG will be good for the skin b/c it kinda massages it.

Will your cats just eat the butter? I tried mixing it into some Fancy Feast that Sable loves when he first came, but it was a "no way".

Originally Posted by Kody's Mom

Will your cats just eat the butter? I tried mixing it into some Fancy Feast that Sable loves when he first came, but it was a "no way".

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all four will... actually never met one who did not ...

Originally Posted by sharky

Do you have a link MA... I have heard of it but it is unavail in my area

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http://www.amazon.com/Professional-F...812990&sr=1-14


My local feed store convinced me to use this-and I am glad I listened.

Originally Posted by hissy

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-F...812990&sr=1-14


My local feed store convinced me to use this-and I am glad I listened.

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Thank you ... looks solid..

Sharky--do you put out a pat(how big?) on a plate, that hasn't worked for me?

Originally Posted by Kody's Mom

Sharky--do you put out a pat(how big?) on a plate, that hasn't worked for me?

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One likes it one plate.. the other prefer it on the counter treat style... normally about a 1/4 pat piece each

Thanks for the info on the hairball dry, Hissy!

Originally Posted by sharky

Butter... I use mineral oil per the vet for the stubborn ones

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Eek, mineral oil? That doesn't seem like a good idea.

They're starting to advise humans not use mineral oil; I can't imagine what it does to cats.

Originally Posted by lsanders

Eek, mineral oil? That doesn't seem like a good idea.

They're starting to advise humans not use mineral oil; I can't imagine what it does to cats.

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It does not sound good... which after some research I had stopped ... but after a talk with the vet I Understand why Mineral oil in a small amount like the 1/2 inch strip of hairball meds works and why it is a better idea than the ones that digest for stubborn hairballs...

Trust me , butter is used first, then oil ( olive or coconut) then the mineral oil( which she said was fine for even my IBD cats, she has a degree in animal nutrition so maybe she knows a few more things ) No I would not use mineral oil continually

Mineral oil by the way is the MAIN component of Many commercial hair ball medicines.. When I say mineral oil I mean a commercial hair ball medicine with it as the main ingredient

none of my cats beyond just a lick or two like butter, margarine in any form. The best defense against hairballs is daily grooming. It's funny with a few of my long hairs- they absolutely hate being groomed, but after I use the seam ripper to break out the mats and then brush them and then zoom groom them, they are all over me for hours afterwards in gratitude. It is quite strange, but I think they know that I am helping them because they do get quite matted.